For a tradesperson, the day is split in two. During the day, the jobs. In the evening, everything else: calling back customers who left a message, writing quotes, sending invoices, updating the week's calendar. And on Saturday morning, catching up on whatever did not get done. It is not the trade that wears you out, it is everything around it.
AI agents can take over a good share of this office work. You do not need to be comfortable with computers: you describe what you want in a chat or a WhatsApp message, and the agent is built for you. This article explains, with concrete examples, what it changes for a plumber, an electrician, a heating engineer, a carpenter or a painter.
So what is an AI agent, in practice?#
It is a small digital assistant that does a specific task for you, at a set time or when something happens (an email arrives, a job is finished). It connects to the tools you already use: your inbox, your Google Calendar, your spreadsheet, your invoicing software, your WhatsApp. It prepares, sends, follows up, and tells you what it has done.
You stay in control: at first, the agent prepares drafts that you approve with one tap. Once you trust it, you let it handle simple tasks on its own. More details on the what is an AI agent page.
Never lose a call-out request again#
Requests come from everywhere: an email, a form on your website, a voicemail left while you were under a sink, a text. Gathering them, judging the urgency, finding a slot and replying takes time, and a forgotten request is a lost customer.
A request agent gathers everything that comes in, extracts the fault, the address, the urgency and any photos, suggests a slot in your calendar taking into account travel between jobs, and prepares the reply to the customer. That is the Sorted call-out requests template.
Whenever a request arrives by email or through my website form, note the customer's name, address, the problem described and the urgency (leak, heating failure in winter, power cut = urgent). Check my Google Calendar and suggest the first free slot that does not have me crossing town between two appointments. Prepare a polite reply to the customer with that slot. Send all of it to me on WhatsApp so I can approve with one word.
You get a summary on your phone, you reply "ok" or "Thursday instead", and the customer has their answer within the hour.
Quotes sent the same day#
A quote sent the day after the visit is more likely to be signed than one sent ten days later. But in the evening, the energy is not always there.
A quote agent starts from what you give it (a few lines typed or dictated as you leave the customer's home, some photos) and from your price list, and prepares a clean PDF quote on your letterhead, with your terms and validity period. It saves it as a draft in your inbox, ready to send. That is the Instant quotes template.
I will dictate what I saw at the customer's home. Write the quote using my price list (Google Sheet "Rates"), on my letterhead, with my usual terms and a one-month validity. Add the call-out charge according to the zone. If a service is not in my price list, do not put a price: write "To be priced" and tell me.
Check that your quote includes the details required for your trade (business identification, breakdown of services, prices, terms, and professional insurance where it is mandatory): the agent takes them from your template, it does not make them up. If the customer does not reply, the Quote follow-up template politely follows up after a few days.
The invoice the same evening#
A finished job means an invoice to write. With the Invoice after the job template, you take a photo of the signed job sheet or dictate in two sentences what was done; the agent prepares the invoice in your software (labour, parts, travel, applicable VAT), sends it to the customer the same evening and tracks payment. For late invoices, the Unpaid invoice follow-up template chases them tactfully.
Google reviews: asking at the right time#
For a tradesperson, Google reviews matter a lot: they are often what a customer looks at when searching for a "plumber near me". Satisfied customers rarely leave a review on their own; you have to ask them, at the right moment, simply.
The Review request after the job template sends the customer a personal message with a direct link to your Google listing when the job is marked as finished, follows up only once a few days later and tracks the reviews received. The Google review replies template then prepares a personalised reply to each new review.
Two simple rules: ask every customer for a review, not just those you expect to be happy, and never offer anything in exchange for a review.
Service contracts reminded at the right date#
For heating engineers, refrigeration technicians and chimney sweeps, annual servicing is a steady source of work, provided you remember to contact customers. The Annual service reminders template spots customers whose servicing is due, sends them a text with a link to pick a slot and sends you the filled schedule every week.
| Your problem | The agent that handles it | What you still do |
|---|---|---|
| Scattered, forgotten requests | Sorted call-out requests | Approve the suggested slot |
| Quotes written on Sundays | Instant quotes | Review and send |
| Late invoices | Invoice after the job | Take a photo of the job sheet |
| Few Google reviews | Review request after the job | Nothing, except replying to negative reviews |
| Forgotten annual servicing | Annual service reminders | Do the servicing |
Scenario: a self-employed plumber and heating engineer with an apprentice#
Picture a self-employed plumber and heating engineer with one apprentice. No secretary, a Google Calendar, a spreadsheet of customers and service contracts, invoicing software.
He starts with a single agent, the one for call-out requests, describing it on WhatsApp from his van. The architect asks him four questions (where requests come from, what counts as urgent for him, his service area, whether he wants to approve each reply), shows him a sample summary and tells him the monthly price. He approves. From the following week, he receives each request summarised on his phone with a suggested slot.
A month later, he adds service reminders before the heating season, then review requests. The three agents share a collective memory: his trading name, his area, his hours, the way he signs off. He never has to repeat them.
Mistakes to avoid when starting out#
A few pitfalls come up often among tradespeople getting started:
- Trying to automate everything at once. Three agents launched on the same day means three things to check at the same time. Start with one, learn to trust it, then add the next.
- Starting from a rough price list. A quote agent applies your prices exactly as written. If your list is three years old or covers only half your services, take an hour to update it before launching the agent.
- Letting messages go out unread at first. For the first two weeks, keep drafts on. You will quickly see whether the tone sounds like you, and you can correct it in one sentence ("shorter", "always stay formal", "never mention an exact timeframe").
- Forgetting to say what is urgent for you. A water leak, a heating breakdown in midwinter, a power cut: spell it out, otherwise the agent will treat every request the same way.
- Not keeping job statuses up to date. The review request and the invoice go out when the job is marked "finished". If nobody marks it, nothing goes out.
Every correction you give is stored in the agent's memory: you do not have to repeat it.
Setting up your first agent#
- Choose a single task, the one that costs you the most evenings.
- Describe it in the chat on the website or on WhatsApp at +33 7 56 81 76 53, as you would explain it to an apprentice, or start from a template in the trades library.
- Answer the questions from the architect, who only asks about what is specific to you.
- Connect your tools: usually one click per tool.
- Look at the sample and the monthly price announced, then launch.
An agent costs from €3/month; most fall between €9 and €49/month depending on complexity. The Pro plan at €29/month includes five agents priced up to €9. Everything is on the pricing page.
What about your website?#
If you have no website, or an outdated one, the Showcase website and Emergency repair website project templates build a hosted site with your services, your area and a way to contact you. You refine it in the chat before publishing.
For larger businesses with job sites and subcontractors, the article AI agents for construction goes further, and the trades use cases page gathers more examples.